Introduction
Lord of the Flies is a book written by William Golding, and it falls under the category of an allegorical novel. Symbolism refers to symbols or images that authors use to convey certain meanings to their readers. Different symbols are used to represent objects and situations that the reader understands depending on the context, environment, and characters. The symbolism of the Lord of the Flies is centered around the beast, the sink, and signal fire. The former communicates inner evil in the form of savagery, whereas the sink conveys law and order, and signal fire is meant to represent life.
Sink
Piggy finds a shell on the beach and tells Ralph what it is. It gives him innovative ideas on how and why to use it. It is then used to gather boys and call meetings, which means it is a symbol of power, order, and law (Bregman 4). This not only earns respect and obedience but also proves that whoever has the shell has the highest power, so “Jack attacks the Shell” to end power and make his own rules (Golding 103). The end of the shell is the end of the age of law and order.
Signal Fire
The signal made by the boys with fire is actually a symbol of life and safety. It also shows that civilization is alive on the island. When the boys decide to stay alive and return to civilization, they immediately accept “Piggy’s offer to use their goggles to start a fire” (Golding 277). When boys become lazy and lethargic, they ignore the preservation of life. So, the fire is finally extinguished. It is eventually revealed that the signal fire was essential to civilized behavior and aided the boys’ safe escape. In addition, it becomes a symbol of life since they wanted to “prepare a fire” to use it as a signal for escape (Golding 103). Jack and his hunters attack Ralph and Piggy, and their group, snatching glasses and attempt set themselves on fire, which becomes important among them.
The Beast
The beast is the head of a dead soldier with a parachute hanging from a tree branch. It is infested with larvae and flies. Simon is the only boy who knows “who this beast is” (Golding 289). However, he is unable to explain this to the other boys. Therefore, he turned into a symbol of something terrible and terrible. In fact, this head symbolizes the inner savagery of boys in particular and of humanity in general. They believe that the beast that “probably scares” them will be pleased (Golding 142). It is a physical expression of their reverence for this beast. The term “lord of the flies” refers to the fact that it was the name given to the lord of the flies that swarm in the heads of dead soldiers (Titlestad 14). This symbolizes what is given as a gift to the beast that rules the fly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the beast represents inner evil in the form of savagery, whereas the signal fire is meant to represent life, while the sink conveys the importance of law and order. Behind this factual simplicity of the story about the adventures of schoolchildren on an island was not a child’s problem, forcing them to think about the fate of humanity, the paths of civilization, and the relationship between the individual and society. The desire to come closer to comprehending the irrational complexity of evil sets the parable transformation of images and their meaning to the level of a broader generalization, the alloy of the conditionally allegorical and the real and credible, the multi-sense and infinity of symbols.
Works Cited
Bregman, Rutger. “The Real Lord of the Flies: What Happened When Six Boys Were Shipwrecked for 15 Months.” The Guardian, Web.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies: Casebook Edition. Penguin, 1987.
Titlestad, Michael. The Ongoing End: On the Limits of Apocalyptic Narrative. Routledge, 2018.